Bilstein 5100 install
The rear shocks were straight forward, utilizing same bolts and nuts. I installed the top of the shock first, hand tightening the nut. And then used a floor jack to get the bottom of the shock into place.
There was questions in my inquiries about install whether boot of the rear shock is at the top or bottom. There was only one way to install the rear shocks because the hole on one end was bigger than the hole on the other end. The bigger hole goes to the top stud. This meant the boot was positioned at the top of the shock.
Installing the front shocks were fairly easy. Starting with the drivers front shock I turned the wheels all t he way left to give more room to access top and bottom of shock. I didn't jack up the vehicle. I used to wrenches on the top nut (one to hold the bottom nut and one to turn the top nut). Some use a socket and access the top nut from the engine. Since I wasn't in a hurry I just used the wrench.
Installing the shock I installed the top first and then with a floor jack got the bottom of the shock in place. I used the new rubber grommets and washers and didn't reuse any of the old washers or grommets. In fact the old bottom grommet prevented me from putting the top grommet and washer and allowing enough thread on top to get the nut on.
Sarge has a video from 2011 that talks about front shocks install but the included washers and grommets are different in the fact that they are separate.
I compressed all 4 of the old shocks once removed and there very little rebound in any of them. I do not know how long the shocks were on this truck since I bought it used 2 months ago with 125,000 on the odometer.
I took the truck for a short test drive but didn't noticed any major improvement. I think once I get it on the highway for a longer drive I can make a better comparison.







